Download 7.1-Intro-to-Whole-Human-Physiology

Introduction to Whole Human Physiology
In China, very few ‘doctors’ are interested in dissection of the human cadaver,
considered so essential in Western medical schools. Why is this? The answer to this question
has a tremendous impact on the herbalist’s work, giving clarity of purpose and helping to
‘weed out’ unnecessary anatomical baggage. Therefore, we will attempt to investigate this
question right from the start.
Basically, the Chinese could care less what detailed components make up the physical
anatomy of the human body. To their traditional physiology, what matters most is a clear
and thorough understanding of what the body does, and how those pathways of doing can be
affected by therapy. As a clear example, take the simple concept of the qi (ch’i, or Vital
Force): it is clearly observable, imparting vitality and the ability to move and function, and
the Chinese have described in detail what all the results are of qi moving in the body; what is
conspicuously absent from all the traditional texts, however, is a discussion (or even a
mention) of what qi is: no equations to describe the nature of this mysterious force, no
theories to pinpoint what exactly it is made of; rather we find long lists of when it comes and
goes, where it travels, and how it manifests in various areas of the body. Furthermore,
‘organs’ in Chinese medicine are not lumps of specialized tissue, containing specialized
structures and specialized cells (as is the Western view): instead, they are movers of energy,
described by how they interact with the rest of the body, and visible only in cases of
imbalance. After death, they cease to exist.
At first, it may seem remarkable that the entirety of Chinese medicine was developed
without cutting into a cadaver, or conducting surgery (a practice that has been around since
ancient times in the Western world). However, when you think about it a bit more, it
makes perfect sense: what better way to understand healing than by observing what the
body does during health, and identifying the patterns of health and disharmony and how they
empirically (experientially) relate to treatments?
The crux of the matter comes back to what recent Western thought has identified as
systems theory (go back and re-read this section for a refresher): for effective healing, we want
to have a picture of the body/mind/spirit as a single, whole, living entity, working in
harmony as a system, rather than snapshots of dead tissue that isn’t doing much of anything.
Don’t get me wrong: standard Western anatomy can be incredibly useful in diagnosing
disease conditions (like identification of appendicitis, for example), and as herbalists we
should become acquainted with this system as well. But for our practices, for the work of
healing and re-balancing, these considerations are secondary to a solid and consistent
understanding of the underlying whole of the body/mind/spirit, and how it uses Vital Force
to maintain its own health. We cannot be reductionist, always looking for the parts, unable
to see the forest for the trees – it is our responsibility to provide support for clients’ own
healing process, and to this end we cannot ever focus on only one part of the picture, lest
unforeseen consequences of our short-sightedness leave the client worse off than before.
(As an aside, let’s briefly look at the meaning of the term holistic, so often heard in
the context of the human system and herbal healing. It comes from the same root as the
word hologram, a two-dimensional piece of special film that projects a three-dimensional
image when light is shined through it. Another interesting feature of holographic film, which
makes it remarkably different from most other film, is that you can remove chunks of the
holographic film and it will still display the same 3D image when light is passed through it.
Even when only 5% of the film is left, you can still see the complete image – although it is a
lot fuzzier. ‘Holistic’ and ‘holism’ were terms first coined South African philosopher Jan
Christian Smuts in his 1926 book, Holism and Evolution, to describe a way of thinking about
the natural world that saw the importance of the ‘whole picture’ even in the littlest parts of
nature. The terms imply also that the key to the function of the whole can be found in every
piece of the system: on one level, DNA is a perfect example of this: a new organism can be
created from any cell in the body. On a deeper level, it implies that there is self-similarity in
every part of the human system: rhythms in the cell will be replicated in the organ, and
rhythms in the organ will be replicated in the whole body. This is an important realization,
because if we can re-align vital rhythms in one area of the system, we can effect positive
change in the whole).
In the material for this lesson you will find a simple diagram that gives an overview of
a systems-based human physiology. It is a systems chart, much like the basic one from an
earlier lesson, showing the interrelations of the whole human’s functions. What is absent are
the well-known structures (like the heart, the lungs, the brain, etc…) – but I’m sure it is
clear by now why they are not there: at this stage, they are simply unnecessary! Sure,
‘Reproduction’ might be closely linked to the sexual organs, and ‘Action’ to the muscle
tissue; but ‘Respiration’ covers the lungs, hemoglobin, and the individual mitochondria
inside each and every cell! Similarly, ‘Adjustment / Repair’ could include the thyroid gland,
the complexities of the immune system, the testes and ovaries, the hypothalamus, and much
more. Ultimately, to effect herbal healing, we need to become much more familiar with the
diagram on the next page than with the individual systems it represents. (Note: my diagram
draws from a variety of sources, including traditional Chinese and Western medicines,
homeopathy, energy theory, and my own experiences. Ideally, you will in time develop a
similar diagram of your own creation to help guide your clinical work).
Let’s review some of the more important parts of the Whole Human Physiology:
 Vital Force: It all comes from here. Without this Force, we cannot be alive, let alone
healthy; it is the basic task of the whole to absorb Vital Force and use it for living. In my
mind, there are four basic sources of vitality in the whole human: First, you have your
constitutional energy. Some individuals have a greater degree of inherent vitality: they heal
more quickly, can withstand more abuse, perhaps live longer. It is a function of conception
and birth, and is genetic in large degree. Second, you have what I term ‘direct’ inputs of
Vital Force: these are ‘enlivening’ but non-material expressions that are very important for
maintaining adequate energy reserves. Some examples are love, sunlight, inspiration, and
perhaps a spiritual practice. The whole human possesses an ‘etheric field’, or aura, which is
directly nourished by Vital Force through these channels. Have you ever seen a flash of
lightning, and feel yourself instantly re-energized? Or gazed out at a beautiful sunset and felt
waves of energy coursing through you? Or what about the effects of music? Third, you have
the energy that is distilled from Food (and Water, to a certain extent). This one is fairly
obvious and familiar to everyone. Fourth, you have prana, or breath energy, distilled from
the air we take into our lungs. Chemically speaking, this is oxygen – essential for all body
processes. But as anyone who has done breathing exercises can attest, there is more to it
than just extra oxygen in the brain: the rhythm of this energy can regulate and heal emotion,
pulse, blood pressure, and more.
The last three channels of Vital Force, which are taken in from the external
environment, need to pass through the filter of perception, which is a complex system
designed to protect us from harmful outside influences. This filter ranges from psychological
defense mechanisms, to stomach acid that destroys harmful bacteria, to tiny hairs in the nose
and windpipe that trap harmful particles, to portions of the immune system (like leucocytes)
that trap and destroy pathogens that have made it into the bloodstream. This filter is
extremely important, and links directly to the larger process of Perception / Analysis in the
whole human – more on this later. Constitutional Vital Force exists within us already, at the
moment of birth, at our Reserves. Direct Vital Force can be instantly absorbed into our
Reserves, once it is adequately screened.
 The Vital Force present within food must be distilled by the process of Digestion. This
system is very vulnerable, as the ‘raw materials’ from which it distills Vital Force are often
contaminated, and require many steps for appropriate absorption. During the process waste,
both solid and liquid, is separated for Elimination. This secondary process must also be
functioning quite well if Digestion is to proceed adequately – any weakness in eliminative
function will instantly impact the whole human’s ability to distill Vital Force from the food.
Once Digestion is complete, its refined Vital Force is sent to the Reserves for storage and
distribution.
 The Vital Force present within air is much purer, and rarely causes long-term problems to
the system of Respiration. Notable exceptions are short term ‘impurities’ that are absorbed
past the filter of perception, like colds and flus or other respiratory complaints, that can
become long-term if the function of Adjustment / Repair (that is causing the cold to begin
with!) is suppressed; and long-term imbalances from polluted air (mold-ridden, chemical,
sooty, etc…). Almost instantly, the Vital Force distilled by Respiration (breathing) is moved
to the Reserves for storage and distribution.
 The system of Reserves / Distribution is obviously essential to the functioning of the
whole human. It is like a ‘timed release’ valve that controls the rate at which Vital Force
flows into three major channels of function: first, the major channel of Adjustment and
Repair; second, the ‘mental’ channel of Creativity / Expression, which is closely linked to
Perception / Analysis; and third, the channel of Reproduction. If the area of Reserves /
Distribution is unduly taxed, or ‘running on fumes’ (attempting to give Vital Force to the
body when it is almost empty), it will become weak and unable to hold as much vitality. The
channel of Adjustment / Repair will suffer, and be unable to provide Vital Force to the
whole. This is what is commonly referred to as ‘adrenal depletion’ (in Chinese medicine the
Kidneys, above which are perched the adrenals, are considered a main reserve of qi).
 The system of Reproduction represents the whole human’s ability to create a new entity
capable of using Vital Force to live. To do so, however, we must expend a bit of our own
Reserves to provide the Constitutional energy to the new life – that is why this system
comes as a direct channel from the Reserves: it is our most obvious power to create
something ‘real’ from the Vital Force inside us!
 The system of Adjustment / Repair is just as central to life as the presence of adequate
Reserves. Intimately tied into every tissue of the body, it manages our vital rhythms, from
breath to heartbeat, to sleep and waking cycles, to the movement of the Digestion. It alters
how we see things through adjusting Perception. In cases of manifest symptoms of
imbalance, it is this system that is responsible for the immediate manifestation, causing a
cold, high blood pressure, insomnia, nausea, and even depression. It responds to imbalances
in the flow of Vital Force, and attempts to adjust that flow or repair the imbalanced tissue. It
is responsible for the feeling of hunger; heat and cold; shortness of breath; in sum, any
internal manifestation beyond the ideal state of ‘perfect balance’. Sometimes this system
will malfunction, as is the case in autoimmune conditions or, occasionally, in cases of
chronic inflammation and pain. But by and large, as herbalists we will be finding ways in
which a) this system can receive adequate Vital Force to perform its function, and b) the
function of this system on any other area of the whole human is not blocked.
 The last system we will examine is the complex formed by the tight interaction of
Creativity / Expression and Perception / Analysis. These two are separate in the diagram
only because they are a function of Vital Reserves and Adjustment, respectively – but in
truth, they form a basic whole. This system allows us to think, feel, express desires, and act
on them (notice Action is included in this complex as well). As a whole human, if we just sat
around all day, we would soon become depleted of Vital Force, become intensely
depressed, and die. This system allows us to move and respond to our outside environment,
adjusting how we function, where we go, what we do and why, based on our basic drive to
obtain Vital Force. It is also our best tool with which to interact with the Vital Force: by
directly affecting how we perceive everything, this system controls the filter of perception, and
thereby modulates the whole human at the place of entry of the Vital Force. It is our
memory, our experience, our own philosophy and understanding of the world. It also
allows us to celebrate our environment and communicate with others (not only with
ourselves!), thereby providing another place of spiritual / energetic linkage with the rest of
the Web of Life. Dire consequences can result if the process of Adjustment and Repair
malfunction or are blocked from helping this system: many ‘nervous imbalances’, from mild
depression to intense psychoses; poor choices; abusive behavior; and more.
There are a couple of final points to stress in this introduction to the Whole Human
Physiology: the first is the strong inter-connection of every system, and the multiple feedback
loops present (for example, Adjustment affects Perception affects Expression affects Action
affects Adjustment; see the discussion of Systems Theory). These links, as we have learned,
allow for the whole human to self-regulate, and maintain the all-important balance or
homeostasis, so long as the Vital Force can keep flowing through all the channels of the
physiology.
The second point is what is termed
“Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”: it defines
a sequence of importance for what the
whole human seeks in terms of Vital
Force inputs: first, basic needs of food
and air (physiological) need to be met. It
there is an adequate amount of these,
one can begin to worry about safety – a
function of Perception and Action. If
safety is ensured, the whole human will
start searching for other ‘direct’ inputs of Vital Force (belonging and esteem, and finally
self-actualization). The idea to remember in all this relates to herbal therapy considerations:
it is not useful, for example, to attempt to address a deficit of adequate Reserves in a client
by increasing the ‘direct’ inputs of Vital force if he or she doesn’t have adequate goodquality Food intake, or has his / her systems of Perception and Expression constantly
occupied by a concern for safety. Resolve the underlying deficits first, working your way up
the pyramid, and eventually the client will be able to use the flow of Vital Force for the
greatest purpose of all: the work of self-actualization and true happiness, which is the
ultimate state of health.